Ex-Lower Pottsgrove man convicted of assault in domestic incident

NORRISTOWN — A former Lower Pottsgrove man has been convicted of charges he menaced his ex-girlfriend with a gun and pistol whipped her male friend after becoming enraged when he encountered them together.

Jose Luis Varela, 27, formerly of the 1900 block of East High Street, most recently of West Lawn, Berks County, was convicted in Montgomery County Court on Tuesday of charges of aggravated and simple assault, recklessly endangering other persons and harassment in connection with the Feb. 24, 2013, domestic-related disturbance at the East High Street residence.

Judge Gary S. Silow rendered the verdict against Varela after a one-day, non-jury trial. Silow deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigative report about Varela, which will include drug and alcohol evaluations.

The judge warned Varela, who remains free on bail pending sentencing, that he is prohibited from having any contact with the victims.

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“No contact means no contact, even through a third party. You are not to have any Internet contact, Twitter, anything of that nature,” Silow told Varela, who acknowledged understanding the warning.

Assistant District Attorney Alec O’Neill, who indicated he will seek jail time against Varela, argued at trial that Varela lost control when he saw his ex-girlfriend with a male friend at the Lower Pottsgrove residence and brandished a handgun in a threatening manner. Testimony revealed that while Varela and the woman no longer dated Varela still resided at the residence.

“If there’s no other word for what this defendant did this night it was certainly reckless,” O’Neill argued during the trial, adding no amount of anger justified Varela threatening the victims with a gun. “He pulled that gun out, escalated the situation. It caused terror in the victims. It’s not clear what the defendant thought he found when he came home but certainly what was in his head led him to want to hurt his ex-girlfriend and her friend.”

An investigation began about 2:46 a.m. when Lower Pottsgrove police responded to the East High Street residence for a report of an armed subject who had assaulted people at the residence. Police encountered Varela on the driveway of the residence, testimony revealed.

“I saw him produce a pistol from his hip,” Lower Pottsgrove Police Sergeant Timothy Walters testified, adding Varela discarded a holster and then followed commands to drop the pistol.

Varela threw the Glock .40-caliber pistol into the air, the magazine separating from the pistol as it hit the driveway, Walters testified. Authorities alleged the pistol’s chamber was loaded and that the magazine was loaded with 13 live rounds.

After taking Varela into custody police entered the residence and found Varela’s ex-girlfriend, her small child and a male friend, who was bleeding from an open laceration to his head, inside a basement apartment, according to court papers. The bloodied male told police that Varela had “pistol whipped him” in the side of the head with the loaded pistol, causing his injury, according to the criminal complaint filed by Walters.

Prosecutors alleged Varela returned home and became enraged when he discovered his ex-paramour on a couch with her male friend. Varela brandished the gun, threatened the pair while the three-year-old child also was in the room, and then struck the male visitor in the head with the butt of the pistol.

The male visitor wrestled with an armed Varela before fleeing the residence while Varela’s ex-girlfriend called 911 and fled to a bathroom area of the home with her child, according to testimony. Varela then approached his ex-girlfriend with the gun while screaming vulgarities at her, police said.

At one point, Varela lowered the pistol and said, “It’s not worth it,” according to court documents. Varela and the woman then continued to argue and Varela pulled the woman’s daughter away from her.

“(The woman) stated she feared she was going to be killed at this time,” Walters alleged.

The woman testified that Varela pushed her head against a bathroom wall before he left the basement. The woman, who was examined by doctors after the incident, testified she suffers lingering headaches as a result of the assault.

The male victim went to Reading Hospital for treatment of a cut on his head, according to police.

Defense lawyer Michael Quinn, who indicated Varela is contemplating an appeal of the felony aggravated assault conviction, suggested the woman’s testimony about the incident was inconsistent and unreliable. Quinn argued there was no physical evidence that Varela pushed his ex-girlfriend’s head against the bathroom wall.

Varela, a military veteran, testified the gun was not loaded when he brandished it inside the home. Varela legally possessed the weapon, testimony revealed.

About the Author

Carl Hessler Jr. writes about crime and justice at the Montgomery County Courthouse for The Mercury and 21st Century Media Newspaper’s Greater Philadelphia area publications. A native of Reading, he studied at Penn State University and Kutztown University before graduating from Alvernia University with a degree in communications. He is a recipient of a National Headliner Award and has been honored for his writing by the Keystone Press Association, Philadelphia Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Associated Press Managing Editors of Pennsylvania. Reach the author at chessler@pottsmerc.com
or follow Carl on Twitter: @MontcoCourtNews.